Meet Grandma Osprey - Meeri Zetterstrom
Wildlife in Vermont has few advocates
quite like Meeri
Zetterstrom, a native of Finland who has spent the past
two decades working to protect and expand the osprey population
in northern Vermont.
Known as "Grandma
Osprey" to many, Meeri has worked tirelessly to educate people
about the plight of ospreys at Lake Arrowhead, a small manmade
lake that straddles Milton and Georgia, Vt. Thanks in large
part to Meeri's efforts, Lake Arrowhead's ospreys have produced
chicks fevery year since 1998.
Meeri and her husband, Kurt, moved to the shore of Lake Arrowhead in the '60s, and lived on a bluff looking down on the water. Together they enjoyed the beauty of the area and advocated on behalf of a wide variety of wildlife, including ospreys. In 1988, Kurt Zetterstrom died.
Meeri, alone with the birds and mammals
that enjoyed her corner of paradise, funneled her energies
into osprey protection and education. In 1988, she convinced
Central Vermont Public Service to build osprey platforms at
Lake Arrowhead, and CVPS and the state began a concerted effort
to help the birds gain the peace they desired.
Over the next decade,
Meeri became a tireless crusader for the ospreys, writing
letters to media and politicians, and tackling a series of
problems the birds encountered. Ultimately, Meeri earned the
nickname "Grandma Osprey" after Lake Arrowhead's ospreys hatched
a single chick in 1998. In 2005, three pairs of ospreys
produced chicks at the lake!
In 2001, Meeri was honored with the publication of a new book
for children, "Meeri Meets the Ospreys," published by CVPS
and donated to every third-grader and library in Vermont in
an effort to educate children and preserve Meeri's message.
Today, Meeri continues
to work on behalf of Lake Arrowhead's ospreys, educate schoolchildren
and the public about the birds, and enlist support for their
continued conservation. Thanks to the cooperation of Meeri
and friends Tony and Nancy Stevens, Lake Arrowhead's ospreys
have a new lease on life.
Terms of Use - Copyright 2007 Central Vermont Public Service
Copyright 2002-2003 photos CVPS, Gustav W. Verderber, Floyd Scholz
and Department of Fish & Wildlife
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